Night Of The Hunter
by Vypr
Summary: A Federation starship investigates a distress signal from a research outpost Aliens/Predator/TNG
1. Investigation

**Authors Note**  
  
I wrote this a number of years ago and forgot about it until I recently found it in an old Star Trek story archive. So I've decided to polish it up a bit and update it. Please feel free to leave any criticism as it is always welcome.  
  
The usual bit follows – I don't own any part of Star Trek – That'little money earner belongs to Paramount as Aliens & predator belong to Fox. I am not going to make a penny out of this story so please don't sue me.

* * *

**Night Of The Hunter - Part 1**  
  
_Captains Log Stardate 4813.2  
  
The Thunderchild is en route the planet Deadfall in the Tartarus sector to investigate the loss of communication with a research station in the planets orbit. The last report from the station stated that the crew had discovered a manufactured object of unknown origin, since then all communication with the station has ceased.  
_  
Captain Richmond leaned back in her command chair and surveyed her domain, the bridge of the Akira class U.S.S. Thunderchild. Sitting in the seat beside her was the first officer, Commander Lewis, who was studying the chief engineer's reports on the engine shakedown tests. The Thunderchild had just finished extensive refits after the end of the Dominion War and Lewis wanted to be damn sure that the new engines wouldn't pack in at a critical moment. He turned to the Andorian seated at the Ops console.  
  
"What's our ETA Mr. Valchek?" He asked.  
  
"We will arrive in the Deadfall system in just under seven minutes captain." replied the Andorian.  
  
"So what is it they're studying out here on the edge of nowhere?" Asked Lewis curiously.  
  
"The planet Deadfall is surrounded by an unstable debris ring similar to Venus," Informed Valchek, "the station is studying the effects of long term meteor bombardment on the planetary crust."  
  
"I see, and the crew complement?" Asked Richmond  
  
"The research station has over three hundred crew, mostly civilian scientists. There is a small security contingent but nothing in any appreciable force."  
  
"I wonder what's going on over there." Said Lewis  
  
"That's what we're to find out Commander." Replied Richmond.  
  
"We are now entering the Deadfall system Captain." Reported Anderson, a fresh faced lieutenant at the helm.  
  
"Drop to one quarter impulse," Ordered Richmond, "Lieutenant Clarke, scan the area for vessels."  
  
"Scanning sir," Replied the short blonde haired woman at the tactical console, "no vessels in range."  
  
"See if you can raise the station." Ordered Lewis  
  
"Hailing frequencies open." A pause. "No response commander."  
  
"Alright Anderson, take us into orbit."  
  
"Aye aye sir, standard orbit."  
  
The Thunderchild slid into a geostationary orbit alongside the darkened form of the station. Lewis decided it looked like a snare drum that had had a nasty argument with a welder in a hi-fi shop.  
  
"Try hailing them again Lieutenant, we might have more luck on short range." He ordered  
  
"Frequencies open." Clarke waited patiently. "Still no response sir."  
  
"Life signs?"  
  
"I'm sorry sir, there appears to be damage to the stations fusion reactors, its leaking radiation, the sensors can't get a clear reading on the interior."  
  
"Damn." Muttered Richmond. "I hate going into a situation blind. Number One, take an Away Team, fully armed and find out what's going on over there."  
  
"Aye sir." nodded Lewis, "Clarke, assemble a security team and meet me in transporter room two."  
  
"Robbins, where do you think you're going with that?" Clarke looked at the two ensigns who were manhandling a particularly vicious looking piece of machinery in the direction of the transporter room.  
  
"We're loading it sir." Replied Robbins with a grin, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead.  
  
"May one enquire why?"  
  
"Well, the captain said we were to be fully armed." Said the other Ensign nervously.  
  
"When the captain said 'fully armed' I don't think she meant to take an isomagnetic disruptor. That is a field artillery piece ensign, it is most definitely NOT meant to be used in a space station." Replied Clarke sarcastically. "Put it back in the armoury."  
  
"But Lieutenant, these things take ages to store and we're due for beam out in five minutes." Complained Robbins.  
  
"Well, you should have thought of that before you hauled the bloody thing out of storage!" stormed Clarke, "Look, put it in the shuttle bay just now and get it stowed the minute we come back."  
  
"Aye aye sir."  
  
Lewis studied his team as they entered the transporter room. Robbins and Masters appeared a bit out of breath and Clarke definitely looked ticked off about something. Borland arrived next, the young Betazoid checking her med kit and was closely followed by Johansson and Hutchins carrying their phaser rifles.  
  
"All set?" He queried. The assembled team nodded. "Ok Ladies and gentlemen here's the deal. We received a partial subspace distress signal from the station six days ago saying they had found an artifact in orbit of Deadfall that contained an unknown life form. Shortly after members of the station personnel started to go missing. The station administrator requested assistance and we've heard nothing from them since. There have been reports of rogue Jem'hadar elements operating in the area so I want everyone to be extra vigilant. Any question?" There was silence. "Let's go then." They climbed onto the transporter pad. The crewman at the controls frowned at her console.  
  
"Problem chief?" asked Lewis  
  
"Just having difficulty getting a clear lock from the station sir," she replied, "the radiation is playing havoc with the sensors...... There, got it now. I recommend you keep a comline open."  
  
"Energize."  
  
It had watched the approach of their ship with interest. It waited patiently in the darkness of the station for their arrival. Now it could feel the build up of their transport device. Soon the hunt could begin again.  
  
Lewis blinked as the transporter shimmer faded and drew his phaser. The first thing he noted was the heat.  
  
"Permission to come aboard?" He said to no-one in particular  
  
"Feels like a Turkish steam bath down here." Commented Masters as he took out his tricorder and began scanning.  
  
"Anything?" Asked Lewis.  
  
"The radiation is cutting the range down a bit, but I am picking up a life sign." Replied Masters. "Approximately fifty meters from our position, looks like it's in the ops room."  
  
Lewis tapped his commbadge.  
  
"Lewis to Thunderchild."  
  
"Thunderchild here, go ahead Number One." came Richmond's voice.  
  
"The station appears deserted, but we have picked up one life sign, not far from our present position." He reported.  
  
"Very well, proceed with caution. Thunderchild out."  
  
"O.K. Clarke, you take point," ordered Lewis. "Masters and Robbins take the rear." There was a brief chorus of "aye aye sir's" and the small party moved on.  
  
The station was eerily quiet as the team proceeded down the empty corridors. The only sound was the hum of the station life support systems. Eventually the party reached the turbo lift leading to the stations operations center. They stepped in and the doors whooshed shut.  
  
The ops center seemed as empty as the rest of the station. Lewis stepped out of the turbo lift and looked at the apparently empty room.  
  
"Well Masters?" He asked.  
  
"There should be someone here," replied Masters, "I'm definitely reading one human life sign." In response to his words a phaser beam from an overhead walkway shot over his head and caught Hutchins in the shoulder as he stepped out of the turbo lift. The beam lifted the hapless man and slammed him to the back of the turbo lift.  
  
"DOWN!" yelled Clarke and snapped off a shot at the source of the blast. The rest of the team dived for cover. Borland scurried over to Hutchins and began running her medical tricorder over him while Robbins crouched at the turbo lift door, covering them with his rifle.  
  
Lewis risked a glance over the top of the console he was hiding against, and was forced to duck as another blast nearly took his head off.  
  
"Ye'll no get me ya bastard!" Came a hoarse cry from across the room.  
  
"This is Commander Lewis of the Federation starship Thunderchild." Shouted Lewis." We mean you no harm!" The only reply was a phaser blast that vaporized part of the console he was hiding behind. Lewis looked at Clarke; she motioned him to continue firing.  
  
He raised himself cautiously and began firing back; meanwhile Clarke and Johansson began slowly moving into positions flanking the lone gunman. Lewis flinched as yet another blast came too close for his own comfort. Clarke signaled Johansson; simultaneously they fired and hit the gunman squarely in the chest. The combined blast lifted him off his feet and he flew backwards, crashed into a console and slumped to the floor unconscious. Lewis picked himself up off the floor and looked at the rest of his Away team.  
  
"Everyone O.K?" he asked, they all nodded, and He looked at Hutchins. "How about you ensign?"  
  
"I'll live sir," he replied with a grimace, "the beam just grazed me." He rubbed the scorched section of his uniform. "Good thing these new uniforms have that ablative coating."  
  
"I've given him something for the pain," reported Borland, snapping shut her med kit, "He'll be O.K. but I'd like to get him to a sickbay and undergo dermal regeneration." She walked over to the unconscious man and ran her tricorder over his still form. "Mild dehydration and malnutrition, signs of elevated blood pressure but otherwise healthy." She said, reading the display. "He's going to be out for a while though."  
  
"Suits me." Said Robbins. "As long as isn't shooting at us."  
  
"I know what you mean." Replied Lewis, looking at the remains of the console he had been hiding behind. "See if you can access the station computer and find out what's been going on here."  
  
"Aye sir." Robbins busied himself at one of the computer stations.  
  
"Clarke, take Johansson and Masters and check out the rest of this level."  
  
"Aye sir," She looked at the two ensigns." Let's go you two and try not to get lost." They left ops room.  
  
Lewis tapped his commbadge. "Lewis to Thunderchild."  
  
"Go ahead Commander."  
  
"We've been attacked by someone who may be one of the stations crew."  
  
"Casualties?" Lewis could hear the worry in Richmond's voice.  
  
"Hutchins took a shot in the shoulder, but Borland says he'll be fine."  
  
"Thank god for that." The relief was even more evident. "Any sign of the rest of the crew."  
  
"Not so far, I've got Clarke conducting a search of the command level, but no sign of anyone except our trigger happy friend." Said Lewis. "I've got Robbins on the computer trying to access the stations log; I'll let you know if anything turns up."  
  
"Understood Commander. Thunderchild out."  
  
Lewis turned to Robbins. "Got anything yet?"  
  
"Not much I'm afraid sir." Replied Robbins." Looks like the main core has been affected by the ionic radiation, a lot of the stored data's been corrupted beyond retrieval."  
  
"Did you get anything useful?"  
  
"Well, I've got an I.D. on our gracious host here." Robbins nodded at the unconscious man." He's Lieutenant Commander Archibald McEwan, the stations chief engineer."  
  
"Well, I suppose it's something." His badge chirped  
  
"Clarke to Lewis." Lewis tapped his badge.  
  
"Go ahead Lieutenant."  
  
"I think we've got something Commander, we're picking up some strange readings coming from the mess."  
  
"We're on our way." Lewis turned to the rest of his team. "Hutchins, you're with me. Borland, stay and look after our friend here, and you keep on that computer Robbins. See if you can get anything else useful out of it."  
  
Lewis and Hutchins found Clarke and her party standing outside the door to the mess room.  
  
"What've you got Clarke?" Asked Lewis  
  
"I'm not sure Commander." She replied, frowning. "I've not seen anything like this before, the signal keeps fading in and out, one minute it's there, and then it's gone."  
  
"Could it be a shrouded Jem'hadar?"  
  
"I don't think so, normally our equipment wouldn't be able to pick up a shroud, this is more like the signal's being distorted somehow."  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"Through there." She motioned towards the mess room door.  
  
"All right, you three take that side of the door, we'll take this." Clarke, Johansson and Masters stood to one side of the door while Lewis and Hutchins stood at the other.  
  
"O.K. On three." Whispered Lewis. "One.....Two.....Three!" On the count, Clarke slapped her hand on the door control. With a swish the doors slid aside and the party surged inside, phasers ready, and gaped at the scene inside. They had found the rest of the command crew, or what remained of them.  
  
Their flayed, headless corpses hung suspended upside down from the ceiling like sides of beef in a butchers shop. Johansson swore viciously while Hutchins was being violently sick in the corner. Lewis didn't blame him; he was feeling a bit queasy himself.  
  
"Where's that signal coming from Lieutenant?" He asked quietly.  
  
"I can't tell sir, I'm having difficulty getting a clear reading." She replied.  
  
Lewis squinted at the far corner of the room. He was sure he'd seen something move. There it was again! A heat wave like shimmer in the corner.  
  
"It's coming from that direction." Clarke waved her hand at the  
  
corner Lewis was studying, her eyes fixed on the tricorders readout.  
  
_"Permission to come aboard?"_ came a ghostly voice that sounded eerily like Lewis.  
  
To Lewis it happened in slow motion. For a split second he saw a tall figure appear in the corner. It was approximately seven feet tall, heavily built with strange armour and a very angular face mask with long dreadlocks hanging out the back. From its shoulder sprung a bright flash of intense blue light and Johansson chest exploded in flame. Johansson looked in stunned disbelief at the smouldering mess that used to be his torso before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.  
  
Lewis yelled and fired his phaser as the apparition disappeared again. He was joined a split second later by the others who fired blindly into the room. The cadavers jerked spasmodically as the energy blasts tore through them. From the corner of his eye, Lewis caught a glimpse of the heatwave shimmer disappearing through an open air vent.  
  
"Hold your fire!" He yelled. The others stopped firing and gazed with fearful eyes at the blackened, warped paneling in the corner. There was no sign of a body.  
  
Clarke knelt beside Johansson body. In the center of his chest, a fist sized hole burnt clear through.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Whispered Masters, his voice quavering."  
  
"Looked like some kind of high energy plasma bolt." Replied Clarke, forcing herself to look at the hole burned through the dead man. "But I've never seen anything like..."  
  
Suddenly the station rocked as if a giant fist had slammed into it.  
  
"Lewis to Thunderchild, what in hell's name is going on?" Yelled Lewis, staggering and nearly hitting a nearby corpse.  
  
On the bridge of the Thunderchild, chaos reigned.  
  
"Alien vessel decloaking off the port bow." Reported Valchek.  
  
"Red Alert!" Snapped Richmond. "Shields Up." The bridge rocked as the alien vessel fired again, this time hitting the Thunderchild.  
  
"Shields down to seventy three percent captain." Reported the officer at the tactical station. "They're using some kind of high energy plasma bolt."  
  
"Evasive maneuvers." Ordered Richmond. "Draya, try to hail that ship."  
  
"They are not responding captain." Replied the Tellarite from the tactical station. The ship rocked again. "Shields at sixty percent captain, damage reports coming in from all sections."  
  
"Return fire! Full Phasers"  
  
Phaser beams lashed out from the Thunderchild's port phaser array and glanced off the hull of the attacking ship.  
  
"No appreciable damage captain." Reported Draya. "Their hull is coated with a substance that can reflect our phaser fire."  
  
"Target photon torpedoes and fire."  
  
"Torpedoes launched."  
  
On the viewscreen a clutch of shimmering red torpedoes shot towards the alien vessel which skipped aside at the last minute, adroitly avoiding the torpedoes which shot harmlessly past into space. The vessel fired again and a bright flash of blue fire smashed into the Thunderchilds already weakened shields. The whole ship shook with the impact, on the bridge the ops console exploded in a shower of sparks. Valchek screamed as his face and heads were flash-burned by the explosion.  
  
"Damage report!" yelled Richmond over the din.  
  
"Shields at fifteen percent, phasers off-line and the warp core has gone to automatic shutdown." Replied Draya."Impulse power down to twenty two percent."  
  
"Where's that ship?"  
  
"She's swinging around captain."  
  
"Set course two-two-five, mark three-two, best available speed." Ordered Richmond  
  
"Sir, that course takes on a collision heading with the other vessel." Said Anderson nervously.  
  
"I'm aware of the heading ensign, engage."  
  
Gracefully, the partially crippled starship swung around and bore directly towards her nemesis.  
  
"Mr. Draya, on my mark fire ventral thrusters at maximum power."  
  
"Aye sir."  
  
"Mr. Anderson, range to enemy vessel?"  
  
"Five hundred kilometers and closing captain. Five.....four......three......two......one."  
  
"Fire thrusters!"  
  
"Thrusters at maximum captain."  
  
With a roar, the starship shot straight up, catching the alien vessel completely unawares. The flash of blue plasma shot harmlessly under the belly of the starship, which flew straight past the alien vessel.  
  
"Aft torpedoes, fire!" Shouted Richmond. From the rear of the Thunderchild two bright red packages of annihilation shot forth. They roared through the empty vacuum towards their target. This time there was no room or time for fancy maneuvers, the torpedoes slammed into the hull of the alien ship and exploded spectacularly.  
  
"Direct hit sir!" said Draya triumphantly. "Sensors indicate major damage to drive and weapons systems, life support is barely functional."  
  
"Put me on." Said Richmond, standing up.  
  
"Hailing frequencies open."  
  
"This is Captain Michelle Richmond of the Federation starship U.S.S. Thunderchild." She announced. "You will surrender your vessel and prepare to receive a boarding party. Please respond." She waited.  
  
"No response captain." Said Draya. "Wait a minute....... Captain I'm picking up an energy build up in the vessels engine. They may be activating a self destruct system."  
  
"Ensign Anderson, full reverse. Get us out of here."  
  
"I'm trying sir, helm is sluggish." said Anderson.  
  
"Vessels core is approaching critical."  
  
On the viewscreen the ship disappeared in a soundless flash.  
  
"Level three shockwave captain." Announced Draya tersely. "I don't think our shields can hold."  
  
"Transfer everything into the shields Draya!" Shouted Richmond "All hands brace for impact!"  
  
The shockwave struck.  
  
"Lewis to Thunderchild, come in please." Said Lewis impatiently. "Thunderchild please respond." The only reply was a hiss of static.  
  
From the depths of the station came a howl of pure, unadulterated rage. A howl that could not have come from a human throat,


	2. Descent Into Danger

The Away Team, minus one, assembled in the operations room.  
  
"What's the story Robbins?" Asked Lewis.  
  
"Not good sir." He replied with a shrug. "I can't raise the Thunderchild on any channel and most of the stations sensors are down so I can't even tell if she's still out there. But that isn't the worst of the news."  
  
"Go on depress us some more." Said Clarke as she slumped into a seat.  
  
"That blast that shook the station was the result of a high energy plasma burst hitting the stations fusion reactor."  
  
"Then why have we still got power? Why haven't the safeties shut it down? Asked Lewis.  
  
"They knew exactly where to hit the reactor to cause the most damage without outright destroying the station. All the safety subsystems were disabled and now the reactor is in a build up to overload."  
  
"How long have we got?"  
  
"Two hours and fourteen minutes before the containment field collapses."  
  
"Is there any way off this station?" Asked Borland nervously.  
  
"Well the station does have one Danube class runabout assigned to it, but..." Robbins left the sentence hanging.  
  
"But what?" asked Clarke.  
  
"Well, would you hang around a station with a psychopathic alien wandering loose?" said Robbins pointedly.  
  
"Good question." Said Lewis thoughtfully. "Why don't we ask our friend here. Borland, can you wake him up."  
  
"Aye sir." Borland took a hypospray from her kit and touched the neck of the recumbent engineer, there was brief hiss and McEwan's eyelids flickered open. He groaned.  
  
"How do you feel?" She asked him.  
  
"Like a Klingon's bin usin' ma heid as a tom-tom." He groaned. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I'm Commander Lewis of the Starship Thunderchild." replied Lewis. "We came to investigate your distress signal."  
  
"Ye mean there's a ship oot there?" Exclaimed McEwan eagerly. "Whit are ye waiting for, get us aff this deathtrap!"  
  
"We can't, we've been unable to contact the ship." Said Lewis. "The station was attacked just before we lost contact, there's a good possibility that the Thunderchild was destroyed in the attack."  
  
"Then we're dead." Said McEwan flatly.  
  
"What happened here?" Asked Masters. "Where's the rest of the crew?"  
  
"They're all dead son." Said McEwan with a sigh. "Dead or worse."  
  
"Tell us what happened." Said Clarke gently.  
  
"It was a couple of weeks ago when it all started." began McEwan. "One of the boys doing a survey of the ring picked up an automatic beacon giving out a repeated signal. When he tracked it down he found some kind of container floating in space. He beamed it into the runabout, then we lost contact. When the runabout returned to the station on autopilot, we found the boy inside with something attached to his face. Weirdest looking thing I ever saw, it looked like a big, fleshy crab with a huge long tail wrapped round the poor lads neck. Well, we hauled him off to sick bay and took a look at the container. It was nothing fancy, just a square metal box with what looked like a big leathery egg in it. Anyway, the doc tried everything to get the beastie off the lads face, but everything he tried failed. Any attempt to remove it caused it to convulse and strangle the lad, and the transporter lock couldn't distinguish between the man and the parasite. He even tried cutting it off, and the damn thing bled a corrosive substance that ate through two levels of duranium deck." McEwan paused and took a sip of water that Borland had passed him. "Later on the creature fell off and died, but it must have laid something in his chest cavity. A few hours later he went into spasm and something just burst out of his chest and disappeared into the air vents."  
  
"Why didn't you contact Starfleet?" Asked Lewis  
  
"Something was jamming our comm system." Explained McEwan. "At first we thought it was sunspot activity, the sun here is very active. A few days passed, then folk started disappearing. We did a sensor sweep to find them and found that they were congregating down in the stations fusion reactor. An armed party went to investigate and reported coming under attack by something before we lost contact, then it was if all hell broke loose. These.... Creatures appeared out of nowhere, snatching most of the civilian personnel and retreating back to the reactor, killing anything that got in their path" McEwan shuddered." McEwan shuddered. "Ugliest things I ever saw, great big teeth and almost insectoid appearance and they moved damn fast too. We didn't have the equipment to defend ourselves, so Commander Baker ordered all access ways to the lower levels sealed and put under Level 3 containment until help could arrive." McEwan leaned back and sighed. "A few days later we picked up an energy surge in the observation dome. It looked like a transporter trace, but it was of a type no one had ever seen before. The party sent to investigate came under attack. At first we thought that whatever was down in the lower levels had gotten out, but all the seals were still in place, and the transport beam had originated from outside the station."  
  
"Did you see what was attacking you?" Asked Lewis.  
  
"Nah, whatever it was it had some kind of personal cloaking device, the only warning we ever got of it was when it slaughtered someone."  
  
Lewis looked at Clarke. "What do you think?" He asked.  
  
"Well, we've met races that had personal cloaking technology like the Tosk on DS9 and the Jem'Hadar," she said, frowning, "but what we've seen doesn't look like any of them."  
  
Suddenly the station jolted, an alarm began to ring stridently. Robbins rushed to a console.  
  
"The containment field around the fusion reactors is losing integrity Commander." He reported. "Computer estimates one hour and thirty two minutes till overload."  
  
"I think now would be a good time to leave." Commented Masters.  
  
"McEwan what about the station runabout?" Asked Lewis. "Is it functional?"  
  
"It was last time I checked but there's a wee problem." Said McEwan.  
  
"Don't tell me it's...."  
  
"Aye, it's down in the lower decks."  
  
The team looked at the massive bulkheads that sealed the upper and lower parts of the station. There were several large bulges in the door as if something unbelievably heavy had repeatedly smashed into it.  
  
"Tell me again what those doors are made of?" Said Borland nervously.  
  
"Two layers of foot thick tritanium/duranium plating sandwiching two feet of molybdenum." Replied McEwan as he fiddled with the lock mechanism.  
  
"Right." She looked at the door again. "Is it just me or does anyone else think this is a bad idea?"  
  
"Got it... I think." McEwan grunted.  
  
With a satisfied bleep the door slid open revealing a stygian darkness..  
  
McEwan hefted his phaser rifle and stared into the gloom.  
  
"Alright, move in." He ordered. "I want constant scans, if anything so much as twitches I want to know about it."  
  
"Aye sir."  
  
"McEwan, you know the way, you lead."  
  
The small group moved cautiously into the darkness.  
  
The shadow detached itself from the wall and glided silently towards the open doors. Any observer unlucky enough to be close to the phantom figure would have been hard put to make out any details. As it moved, the air around it rippled like a heat wave in the shape of a tall muscular figure. It passed a transparent, clawed hand over the partially disassembled lock. After a few moments silent contemplation, it moved after the unsuspecting party.  
  
They had passed through three levels of darkness without incident, and the tension was beginning to wear on Lewis.  
  
"Sir, I think there's something on the walls ahead." whispered Borland.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know, "she replied, "I've never seen anything like this before."  
  
The corridor ahead was completely engulfed in a strange, organic looking material, disturbing in design and hinting at a purpose totally alien to human perception. Borland ran her tricorder over the substance.  
  
"I can't make head or tails of this." she said, studying the display with a frown. "Its part organic, part mineral, there's even fragments of human DNA in it."  
  
"Is it dangerous?"  
  
"I don't think so, there doesn't appear to be any toxins I can detect."  
  
The party moved deeper into the altered passageway, trying to avoid touching the eerily organic material. As she pushed forward, her palm beacon probing the darkness, Clarke thought she saw something eerily familiar. She shined her light back to where she thought she had seen it, and froze.  
  
"Oh man, someone tell me this is a bad dream" Moaned Robbins, clutching his rifle even more tightly.  
  
Embedded in the wall was the form of a human female, clad in a Starfleet uniform with a gaping hole in her chest. Clarke could clearly see where her ribs had been pushed violently outwards, their splintered remains hanging from dried shreds of flesh.  
  
"Lieutenant Adams, stations security officer." Said an ashen faced McEwan. "She stayed in the lower section to give us time to get it sealed off" He leaned forward and closed her staring vacant eyes. "She deserved better than this."  
  
"Sir, look at this." Borland was indicating a large, leathery ovoid sitting in the corner "McEwan, is that what you found in the shuttlecraft?"  
  
"Aye, but it was open and empty, this one is closed."  
  
As Borland's light played over the egg shaped object something inside moved convulsively.  
  
"Ok people, let's back away slowly, from what we've heard I don't think we want to play with.." Lewis voice cut off as the top of the egg opened. Long spindly legs appeared over the lip of the opening and something pulsed and heaved inside. With an inarticulate yell, McEwan raised his phaser and fired at the egg. The ruby beam hit the base of the egg, blowing a hole in the base, causing the whole thing to tip over backwards."  
  
"Dammit McEwan, you could alert the whole nest that we're here!" Yelled Clarke, slapping the phaser aside and glaring at the engineer.  
  
"Hutchings tricorder bleeped loudly.  
  
"Commander, I think I've got something!" Said Hutchins.  
  
"What is it?" barked Lewis  
  
"I can't make it out clearly." He replied. "The stuff on the walls is interfering with the tricorder readings, but there's definitely a large group of discrete signals headed in our direction."  
  
"How many signals ensign?" said Clarke.  
  
"I can't tell, the tricorder's swamped." said Hutchins, his voice getting higher. "They're coming from all around us."  
  
"Defensive formation!" Snapped Lewis. "Set phasers on Level ten, pulsed burst."  
  
The group formed a loose circle facing outwards and nervously fingered their phasers. Lewis looked down the corridor ahead. Nothing moved.  
  
"Signals: fifteen meters and closing." reported Hutchins calmly. Clarke tightened her grip on her phaser and flicked the safety on her rifle off.  
  
"Ten meters." Still nothing. McEwan wiped the sweat from his face and shivered.  
  
"Five meters." Black, toothy death failed to erupt down the corridor at them. Borland tried to stop her arms from trembling.  
  
"Two..." Everyone was so transfixed staring down the corridors they failed to see the long, segmented tail slide down from the ceiling above, not until it wrapped itself around Hutchins and hauled his screaming body upwards. His screams stopped suddenly in a hail of coppery blood.  
  
All hell broke loose.  
  
Fanged nightmares erupted from the ceiling, floor and walls on top of the stunned party. With a horse bellow, Lewis sprayed the advancing horde with phaser fire. Under this awesome blast, several of the creatures disappeared in polychromatic splendor, but there were more to take their place. Borland snapped, turned and bolted down an apparently empty side corridor, past the devastated egg lying on its side. She hit a locked door and reeled back. Behind her something skittered across the floor. She turned in time to catch a glimpse of something with too many legs and a long, prehensile tail as it launched itself at her face. Her scream was cut off as it wrapped itself around her head. Her last sensation was of something warm and slimy forcing its way past her lips and down her throat.  
  
Meanwhile, Ensign Masters was in trouble. He had seen Borland run and had tried to follow. He heard a hiss from above, looking up he saw the jaws of a nightmare looking down upon him. In a few moments of clarity he noted the long, banana shaped head, the eyeless dome-shaped forehead and the teeth that were moving out of the creature's mouth towards him. With a scream, he raised his phaser and in one continuous beam sliced the monsters head off. The head flew to the side and a huge gout of yellow-green liquid spouted out of the stump and onto the head and chest of ensign Masters. He barely had time to scream as the corrosive liquid quickly ate through flesh and bone before another creature plunged its spear tipped tail through his chest.  
  
Lewis, Clarke and McEwan stood back to back, waiting for the end. Lewis had seen Robbins go down, one of the creatures had grabbed his head with both hands and a long tongue, capped with teeth, had punched effortlessly through his forehead and into the soft brain tissue beyond.  
  
They were surrounded with no escape. And then it came, roaring down the corridor like a runaway locomotive. The same beast that had killed Johansson now fully visible. It emitted an ear shattering bellow and descended upon the surprised creatures like a howling dervish. Its movements reminded Lewis of his martial arts instructor, every move was smooth, fluid and precisely calculated. It did not waste energy and it went through the creatures like a plasma torch through runny butter. It swung its fist from which protruded two long, wicked looking blades that seemed impervious to the acid blood. Lewis stared in awe at their unlikely savior as it hacked and slashed its way through the alien horde. He felt someone grab his arm and looked into Clarke's desperate face.  
  
"I think this is our cue to run like buggery," She said, "if you'll pardon my Klingon."  
  
With a last look behind him, Lewis followed his security chief and the engineer down the corridor.  
  
They stopped in storage bay two levels from their objective. Lewis sank wearily onto a cargo pallet and dropped his phaser rifle.  
  
"What the hell is that thing?" Asked Lewis. "First it kills Johansson, then it pulls our bacon from the fire. What does it want?"  
  
"Ah dinna ken laddie." Replied McEwan wearily. "When yon thing appeared it started pickin' us off one at a time. We were in contact with one poor bastard it was chasin' round the habitat ring. It seemed to be toyin' wi' him."  
  
"What happened to him?" Asked Clarke.  
  
"We found him, minus head an' spinal cord hangin' from an EPS conduit."  
  
A thought occurred to Lewis. "Does it always mutilate its victim?" He asked.  
  
"Aye, some it takes their heads, some their fingers and a couple the bastards skinned."  
  
"Yes, we saw them."  
  
"Why would it mutilate them?" Asked Clarke.  
  
"Trophies." replied Lewis thoughtfully.  
  
"Trophies?"  
  
"Yes, think about it. It hunts its prey down, kills them and takes pieces of it's victims as trophies." Explained Lewis. "Hunters on Earth did it before the practice was banned in the late Twenty-First century."  
  
"So where did the other creatures come from?"  
  
"I think they were introduced as prey."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Remember the way they attacked us? "Explained Lewis, "They're perfect prey. They can blend in perfectly with their environment, they're extremely vicious, making them more challenging and by introducing them into a closed system like this station there's no problem of them getting out of control. Any problems, just blow the station out of space. And of course the station personnel make ideal breeding material."  
  
"So these things were put aboard my station, killed my friends, just so that that bastard could get some SPORT!" roared McEwan angrily. "When ah get ma hands on that son of a targ ah'm gonnae rip it's lungs out and beat it to death wi' them."  
  
Back in the distance it listened to their conversation. It watched their movements carefully, walls mean little to eyes that are adapted to see into the infra-red. It began to move silently towards their location. It was time to end this phase of the hunt. As it moved it touched the controls of the device on its arm. Its form rippled and faded from view, leaving only a ghostly image. As it moved, it caught sight of itself on a panel left untouched by the organic rot. It studied the play of light around its form for a second, then turned and headed back towards the scene of its last victory.  
  
"O.K. Let's move. "Announced Lewis. "Only another couple of levels to go."  
  
As if to echo his words, the station computer suddenly spoke. "Warning!" It announced "Containment field failure. Core breach in twenty minutes."  
  
"You heard the woman," Said Clarke wryly, "Let's move."  
  
With a great degree of trepidation the trio left the storage area and re- entered the corridor. Slowly they advanced, ears straining to catch the slightest hint of danger. The passage ended in a T-Junction. Lewis carefully glanced each way and then jerked his head back suddenly, waving the others back.  
  
"What is it commander?" Asked Clarke nervously.  
  
"Take a look." He whispered grimly. With a shrug, she looked around the corner.  
  
"I don't see anything." She whispered.  
  
"Look at the foot of the turbo lift door."  
  
"What the...." Crouched in front of the door was the strange shimmer that Lewis had noticed in the mess hall.  
  
"What is it lass?" Asked McEwan.  
  
"It's the hunter." She replied. "I can just about see it through the cloak."  
  
"What'll we do now?"  
  
"On three?" Said Lewis, hefting his phaser.  
  
"Go for it." Replied Clarke.  
  
"Three!" Shouted Lewis, diving round the corner and firing his phaser at the crouched figure. Clarke wasn't far behind him, followed by a surprised McEwan. The three phaser bursts struck the crouched figure and blasted it back against the turbo lift doors and then slumped bonelessly to the ground. Its form flickered and sparked as the cloak began to short circuit and then faded completely to reveal... the form of a woman in a charred Starfleet uniform with a nightmarish form wrapped around her head. Strapped to her arm was the charred remains of the alien cloaking device.  
  
"My god." breathed Lewis in horror.  
  
"Borland?" Whispered Clarke. McEwan moved towards the supine figure.  
  
"Permission to come aboard?"  
  
"NO!" yelled Lewis, a fraction of a second too late. A clawed hand reached out from the shadows and slashed across his face. McEwan screamed in pain and collapsed, clutching his ruined face. Lewis raised his phaser, but a contemptuous backhanded blow sent him stumbling backwards into Clarke. Lewis shook his head, trying to clear the ringing sound in his ears. He looked up, the Predator was walking towards him. It flexed its mighty wrist and the two blades sprang forward. It raised its fist, Lewis looked at the points of the blades shining in front of him and the ringing in his ears grew louder. Suddenly the Predator stumbled, knocked off balance as one hundred and thirty pounds of enraged Scottish engineer landed on its back. McEwan, his bloody face aglow with rage and determination, hung grimly onto its back, clutching the source of the ringing in Lewis's ears. It was a hand phaser set on overload. He stared dumbly at the scene, as the Predator bounced from bulkhead to bulkhead, vainly trying to remove the annoyance from its back. He felt a hand on his arm pulling him towards the lift shaft and heard a voice screaming at him, threatening all sorts of unpleasant things if he didn't get his backside in gear. The pair ran down the corridor towards the lift, leaving the sound of the creatures rage and the whine of an overloading phaser behind them. They reached the turbo lift doors and quickly prized them open. They gingerly stepped over Borland's corpse and descended into the gloomy shaft. Above them there was an alien scream of fury, followed by a thunderous explosion, then silence. 


	3. Deliverance

A few minutes later they reached the bottom of the shaft. In front of them, a closed door was all that barred their way to safety.  
  
"Are you alright commander?" Asked Clarke.  
  
"I'll live lieutenant." Replied Lewis grimly. "Let's get that runabout and get the hell out of here."  
  
"Good idea sir." Slowly they eased the door open and looked outside. It was like a scene from hell. The short corridor was completely encased in the alien resin, but most horrible of all, the rest of the station crew were encased in the resin, and every single one had a gaping, bloody hole where their chests used to be.  
  
"Oh my god." Said Clarke, shuddering.  
  
"Let's just go," said Lewis, "there's nothing we can do for them." Slowly the pair picked their cautious way forward, flanked on both sides by the tormented dead. At the end of the corridor stood a large door marked simply 'Hangar Bay 1'. Lewis had never seen a more gratifying sight. Carefully, they slid the doors open and looked inside. Lewis's heart sank. Inside, the runabout lay in the centre of the hangar, surrounded on all sides by hundreds of leathery, egg-like objects.  
  
"Ohhhhhhh shit!" whispered Clarke softly.  
  
"Ditto." Said Lewis. In the darkness, something hissed. "When I say run, run."  
  
Clarke nodded.  
  
"RUN!"  
  
Lewis had never run so fast in his life, behind him he could hear Clarke pounding along after him. Something screeched like a thousand nails being dragged across a thousand blackboards and the bay was suddenly alive with the skeletal forms of the aliens. Lewis reached the runabout and turned to cover Clarke with his phaser. The aliens screamed as the energy spray volatilized their bodies. In the darkness above, unnoticed by the Starfleet officers, something heavy moved. Clarke scrambled into the runabouts cockpit and quickly began powering up the craft. Outside, Lewis was in trouble. His phaser suddenly fizzled and died, its power pack spent. Lewis turned and dived into the runabout, hitting the door control as he flew past. The door slid shut as the first alien slammed into it. There was a series of thuds and the door started to bulge inwards.  
  
"Clarke, get us the hell out of here!" Lewis yelled.  
  
"I can't!" Clarke shouted back. "The hangar doors aren't responding" As she worked feverishly at the controls, she glanced out the window, and recoiled in horror. Outside the runabout, something huge had lowered itself from the heights of the hangar bay where it had been hidden in the darkness. It was similar in appearance to the creatures that had attacked them, but much, much bigger. It had a flared cowl covering its eyeless head, a pair of vestigial arms sprouting from it's torso like those of a tyrannosaurus and WAY too many teeth. It opened its huge fanged mouth and emitted an ear piercing shriek. It was answered by the station computer.  
  
"Warning! Containment field failure imminent. Core breach in one minute." Announced the calm voice of the computer.  
  
"Oh sod!" Muttered Clarke and hit the one the one control that her instructor told her she should never even think about touching whilst docked.  
  
The phaser beam lashed out from the runabout and struck the hangar bay doors. With a soundless explosion the doors were sucked out into space, along with numerous aliens and a Danube class runabout. Clarke was forced back into her seat by the sudden acceleration and she heard a thud and a curse as Lewis and the rear bulkhead became acquainted. The pressure soon eased up as the little ships inertial dampers powered up, allowing Clarke to take a much needed breath. Lewis came forward and slumped into the co- pilots chair. Behind them, the station flared soundlessly as the fusion reactors, suddenly freed from the restrictions of the containment fields, went super critical and turned the research station into a short-lived sun. The runabout rocked as the shockwave reached them.  
  
"Is that it?" Asked Clarke wearily. She was answered by a thump as a massive clawed hand bit into the hull in front of the port. It hauled the ugly flared skull of the big alien into view.  
  
"Awwww no," moaned Clarke, "tell me this isn't happening." There was another thud as the alien again struck the port, trying to smash its way in.  
  
"Warning!" Announced the runabout's computer, "Hull integrity at eighty- five percent." The alien struck again. "Hull integrity now at eighty two percent."  
  
"We've got to get that thing off!" Yelled Lewis.  
  
"I'm trying!" Replied Clarke as she sent the runabout into a series of crazy maneuvers, trying to shake the tough organism off but to no avail. The huge monster struck again, this time a crack appeared in the transparent aluminium of the view port.  
  
"Hull integrity at fifteen percent, structural collapse imminent." Announced the computer calmly. Lewis closed his eyes and waited for the end as the alien raised its powerful arm to deliver the fatal blow, and was struck by an intense beam of high power phaser fire. It opened its jaws in a soundless screech as it quickly dissolved. Above the runabout the battered and scorched form of the Thunderchild flew out of the blinding corona of the sun. She swept past the tiny runabout like an overprotective mother hen.  
  
"Thunderchild to Runabout."  
  
Lewis tapped his badge.  
  
"Lewis here," he said tiredly, "what took you so long?"  
  
"Sorry Number One," Replied Richmond's voice, "We've had a few problems of our own, what's your status?"  
  
"Just the two of us left captain." He replied. "Myself and Lieutenant Clarke." There was a brief silence as Captain Richmond digested the information.  
  
"Understood Number One." She said finally. "Come on home."  
  
The runabout entered the shuttle bay without incident and drifted slowly to halt. Lewis levered himself out of the seat and went to the door. As he keyed the door open he looked down. Pooled on the floor was a curiously luminescent green fluid.  
  
"Permission to come aboard?"  
  
Lewis spun round and found himself looking at the third ugliest face he had ever seen. It had a massive bony forehead, small piggy eyes, long dreadlocks and two protruding mandibles. The apparition bellowed in his face and knocked him flying through the hatch and onto the floor of the shuttle bay. As his vision cleared he saw the creature stagger as Clarke struck it from behind with a medikit. With a negligent backhand blow it knocked Clarke back into the runabout. It turned back to Lewis and jumped out of the runabout. Slowly it began to stalk towards him. Lewis tried to stand, but a massive kick from the creature threw him back. He felt his ribs snap like dry twigs and cried out in pain. The monster advanced again, flexing its wrist and the two blades sprang forward.  
  
"Hey! Ugly!" The monster turned towards the voice.  
  
Clarke had manhandled the isomagnetic disintegrator that Masters and Robbins had left in the shuttle bay to a position where it covered the monster.  
  
"Permission to come aboard?"  
  
"Permission denied motherfucker." she replied and depressed the firing stud. From the barrel of the cannon a beam of pure destruction licked out and hit the advancing Predator square in the chest. It bellowed once and exploded in a shower of luminescent green blood.  
  
Lewis sighed and let his head sink back onto the deck. His last view, before the darkness took him, was of a security squad rushing into the shuttle bay.  
  
"Here comes the cavalry, late as usual."He thought fuzzily, and then lay still.  
  
He awoke in sickbay. Trying to raise his head just made his head spin, so he gave it up as a bad idea and lay back on the biobed.  
  
"Glad to see you're still with us." Came Richmond's voice.  
  
"What's the damage?" He asked.  
  
"Three broken ribs, a nasty concussion and a broken nose." She reported. "But don't worry; it doesn't spoil your classical good looks."  
  
"Critic." he muttered.  
  
"I'm looking forward to reading your report on this Commander." She said seriously.  
  
"I'm not looking forward to writing it" He paused, a stab of guilt and regret overcoming him as he remembered his fallen crewmembers. "Captain?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do we have any idea where they cam from?"  
  
"I don't know commander." She replied. "But I don't think we've seen the last of them."  
  
The End ? 


End file.
